Coached by Meg McConnell, Huntington hopes that Gamboa and All-League teammates Chris Weber, Javier Vias and Logan Deegan will help the Blue Devils reach new heights. The squad placed third in the league standings last year with a 4-3 record and went on to take seventh in Suffolk.

Like many high school boys’ and girls’ swimming and diving teams, Huntington has teamed up with a nearby high school to field a joint team to help ensure there are enough athletes to cover every event. It has become a standard practice, not on in Suffolk, but across the state. The Huntington-Harborfields team expects to be very competitive this winter.

Gamboa is an exceptional leader and McConnell hopes the teenager can lift the team to a new level of success. The All-League swimmers will be joined by Jonathan Larice and Tom Peer to form a potent lineup.

McConnell points to Huntington’s “cohesiveness” and “group effort” as being the keys to winning. Gamboa and Peer are both seniors. Vias and Weber are juniors. Deegan is a sophomore and Larice is a freshman. Also eligible to return from last year’s team is senior Henry Cartwright, freshmen William Spada and William Weber and eighth graders Pierre Leroy and Martin Newman.

Several strong swimmers will also be returning for Harborfields, making the combined team a threat to opponents. The squad is training at the Huntington YMCA pool.

Huntington/Haborfields will open the season on December 5 at Deer Park. Dual meets will follow against Stony Brook, Connetquot/East Islip, Ward Melville, West Islip, Brentwood, Smithtown, Sachem, Central Islip and Half Hollow Hills.